Nine months ago I was thrown into the world of sleep deprivation, parenting forums and mum guilt when I gave birth to my first daughter. Despite this, there is so much more to me than my status as a mum. I am a woman, a queer person, a Gypsy. All of these things add to how I perceive and understand the world. I like to believe I’m very aware of the ongoing discussions to increase inclusivity within our society. With that in mind, one topic that frequently comes up is whether breastfeeding should now be referred to as ‘chest feeding’ to include men who nurse and trans-women. As a breastfeeding ..read more

Originally published in Lay It Out Magazine: Ten weeks ago I experienced by far the most painful, and scariest, moment of my life. Of course, you expect childbirth to be painful. That was a given. After a draining nine months, I finally went into labour only to be told that what had been a relatively normal, low risk pregnancy could actually be quite dangerous for me and my daughter. I had been in labour for eight hours when the midwives came to my house to examine me. Before they could, they skimmed through my maternity notes and quickly pointed out that my child had an isolated single umbili ..read more

As abortion access is threatened in the States, it's important to note that the pro-choice movement in the UK is no where near over. Across the pond, in England, Scotland and Wales, abortion is legally available. The 1967 Abortion Act marks out that abortions can take place up to 23 weeks and six days of pregnancy. Abortions performed beyond this period would only take place in very limited circumstances. For example, they can be carried out beyond 24 weeks if the mother’s life is at risk or if the foetus would be born with a severe disability. By law, abortion at any stage is only permitted o ..read more

I’ll start with a short introduction to myself. I’m Katie, a 24 year old, queer individual with Gypsy heritage. I say Gypsy heritage because I do not believe I have the ‘full’ Traveller upbringing or life, but it is in my blood and therefore, a part of me. My mum was born on a Traveller camp and I have grown up seeing her battle with her identity. My siblings and I learnt very quickly that we should not share this side of our heritage, because ‘people will treat you differently’. I think myself very fortunate that I was brought up in a positive, happy home where discrimination of any form was ..read more

I’ve always found setting goals to be really difficult. Not just to stick to, but to come up with in the first place. I struggle to imagine what my life could look like in 6 months, a year or 5 years. This year I’m trying to create as many goals as I can think of, whether they’re big or small. The process of writing down 22 different goals to achieve in one year can certainly feel overwhelming. I’m writing them now knowing that with the unpredictability of life, some of these may not happen this year. Not only is there the ever-looming pressure of juggling your career, social life and personal ..read more

Hello and welcome to the first blog of 2022! I’m determined to be more active on here this year as life was very busy in 2021. I would say that last year was finally the year where I finally took control of my mental health. I started 2021 having CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) for depression, anxiety and PTSD. And it was a lot. As difficult therapy was, and as vulnerable it made me feel, it is by far the best thing I’ve ever done in my life. It has completely changed my life. As a note, therapy will not remove all the crap from your life that makes you feel bad. Instead it changes your r ..read more

Hello and welcome to the first blog of 2022! I’m determined to be more active on here this year as life was very busy in 2021. I would say that last year was finally the year where I finally took control of my mental health. I started 2021 having CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) for depression, anxiety and PTSD. And it was a lot. As difficult therapy was, and as vulnerable it made me feel, it is by far the best thing I’ve ever done in my life. It has completely changed my life. As a note, therapy will not remove all the crap from your life that makes you feel bad. Instead it changes your r ..read more

In 2015 my parents were told their baby had Trisomy 18, a fatal foetal chromosomal disorder. They debated all the options but it was very unlikely the foetus would survive to full term, let alone birth. As well as their 4 already existing children to consider, they ultimately decided to terminate at 17 weeks and named her Daisy. This was a pregnancy my parents had longed for for more than 2 years, and undoubtedly grieved for. While it may seem deeply obvious individuals grieve after a loss of a pregnancy, baby or child, many do not associate abortion with grief. Whenever we talk about our loss ..read more

As the world progresses further, many have been debating whether gendered terms such as ‘male’ and ‘female’ should be limited or dropped completely. At the moment, there are mixed opinions but I wanted to share mine. What are gendered terms? I don’t think we really need to explain this, but I will. For me, gendered terms are words that could describe an individual’s gender. I’m making this very clear - their gender, not their sex. Although, I probably have the same opinion on sex-based terms, such as ‘male’ and ‘female’ This includes the obvious words, but also terms that we have gendered such ..read more

As many of you know, I love finding new, easy ways to reduce waste. I'm also a tad obsessed with buying different sanitary products... but we don't need to talk about that. I didn't realise until I started using reusable sanitary products just how much waste comes from tampons and pads! It's taken me a while to find products that work for me but I think I've finally got it! Here are my favourite period products for those looking to have a more planet-friendly time of the month! The Menstrual Cup This was actually the first reusable product I tried due to my body severely disliking tampons. A m ..read more